To deliver, enable, and host multi-player video game sessions, it is essential that various types of video game data be validated and authenticated. Failure to properly validate video game data could result in 1) the inaccurate ranking of players, 2) the rewarding of players who choose to improperly acquire resources, 3) disadvantaging players who engage with the game in accordance with the established rules, and 4) the general destruction of the quality of game play, as players start to believe that gameplay results are governed more by cheating than by skill. It is therefore imperative to insure that all video game data is properly filtered, validated, and/or authenticated.
For example, in many video games, a player may compete against another player either in person or via an online platform that integrates the play of multiple players through a network. Sometimes, when players play a game, they store, on their client device, a “loadout” that comprises data representative of the outfits, weapons, guns, grenades, ammunition, abilities, and other items (cosmetic or functional) owned by, or accessible to, a player's character. When playing a multiplayer game, those loadouts are transmitted from one client device to the client devices of other players so the character may be properly represented in the gaming environment of other players. Additionally, many online games offer “leaderboards” which allow a player to judge their performance in a particular game play session relative to other game players. Most leaderboards measure a level achieved and certain standard statistics, such as the amount of time played to achieve the level. Simple performance metrics are often used to display basic performance statistics. Examples of such metrics include the number of kills, kill/death ratio, scores, achievements, timings, and levels passed. This data is transmitted by a game client running on the player's home console or personal computer (PC) to the leaderboard service hosted at the back end of the gaming system.
Video game data, such as the loadout and leaderboard data described above, are susceptible to hacking, thereby potentially giving a player's character resources or representing scores it otherwise would not have had. Specifically, one of the major challenges encountered by video game leaderboard programs in providing detailed real time performance data for each player is to ensure that the data is both accurate and truthful. Compromised console hardware is often used at the client end to send modified game statistic data to the leaderboard service. For example, debugging or PC hacking tools may be used to modify data stored in a memory on a PC or a console. Users at home can attach a debugger or other tools to the running game to modify the data directly within the memory and set it to any value they want, before it is sent to the leaderboards service. Once a game console is modified, data from that game console cannot be trusted as the game client can be manipulated to send any information directly to the leaderboards in the absence of any intermediary checks to ensure the validity of the data. The problem is compounded in that the game backend is riddled with management of large amounts of data from numerous players based on non-standard game statistics. Therefore it becomes difficult to run validation checks at the backend on every data entry.
Some gaming systems use post-match validation systems on the game client to ensure that the game log appears reasonable and to identify evidence of boosting statistics or collusion or tampering with the leaderboard. However, client-side validation cannot be trusted because once the client is compromised, any data can be tampered with. Further, typically with online multiplayer games, very little historical information about a player is available on the game client, such as a console, PC or mobile device, which is important for validating statistics of the game last played. This is because such a feature is bandwidth and memory intensive, as it requires the player information to be loaded and saved between matches. It is not feasible to store and manage large amounts of historical performance information, as the data would have to be uploaded each time a match is played.
The same issue applies to loadout data. Compromised console hardware may be used at the client end to send modified loadout data to other client devices. For example, debugging or PC hacking tools may be used to modify loadout data stored in a memory on a PC or a console and improperly associate resources, such as weapons, ammunition, clothing, powers, abilities, and other assets, with the player's profile. Once a game console is modified, loadout data from that game console cannot be trusted as the game client can be manipulated to send any information directly to other client devices in the absence of any intermediary checks to ensure the validity of the data. One could solve part of the problem by having the client devices of other players upload the loadout of a player to a backend to validate the loadout of the player, but this can be resource intensive and highly duplicative (since multiple client devices would be independently trying to validate the same loadout).
Therefore, there is a need for methods and systems that address the above challenges and provide performance and/or loadout data in real time to the players that is both accurate and validated. Such a system should be capable of overcoming the drawbacks of client-side validation and provide a validation service that is remote yet secure, without being bandwidth or memory intensive.